Fire at North San Jose home claims life of 62-year-old resident

SAN JOSE -- A 62-year-old man perished in a fire at his Daltrey Way home in North San Jose Tuesday afternoon, and officials said they have no reason to believe the blaze was suspicious in origin.

The fire was reported at 3:20 p.m. at a single-family home near Cataldi Park, where arriving crews found other residents of the house unsuccessfully trying to use a garden hose to fight the smoke and flames gain access to the home and save a man trapped inside, said San Jose fire Capt. Reggie Williams.

Firefighters went in, where "they found the subject upstairs, carried him down and brought him outside, where it was determined that he was deceased," Williams said.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Jimmy Gordon, who lived at the residence.

The coroner said that at this point they have ruled it an accidental death but do not have a specific cause.

San Jose police said they are not conducting a criminal investigation.

The one-alarm blaze was brought under control at 4:32 p.m. One firefighter went to the hospital with an unspecified medical complaint, but Williams said he was treated and released and is "fine."

There was no immediate information about a cause of the blaze, Williams said.

It was the first fire fatality in San Jose since three people died in a pair of house fires in April, two at a South Daniel Way home and a 7-year-old girl at a Japantown blaze.